


Bet On It

by TevinterPariah



Series: Seblos One-Shots [3]
Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Are we dating?? kind of limbo, But are in the we went on a date and want to be an item, Canon Compliant, Canon Era, Episode 01x06, Fluff and Angst, Gay Disaster Carlos, Gay Disaster Seb, Insecurity, Ish? I headcanon them as like not dating yet, Late Night Conversations, Light Angst, M/M, Missing Scene, Pre-Relationship, Seblos, Short Circuiting Carlos
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:01:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21899341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TevinterPariah/pseuds/TevinterPariah
Summary: Carlos stifles a chuckle before bursting into laughter. Seb breaks face and starts to laugh alongside the other boy, sharing a moment before falling into a comfortable silence. A few moments later, Carlos looks up to Seb with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, “You honestly think we have a chance?”Seb smiles and gives Carlos a wink, “I would bet on it.” This causes Carlos to smile, really smile. Seb had missed seeing him like this, and having seen Carlos in this state, he would do anything to make sure nobody hurt him like this again.— — —A Missing Scene Fic from Episode Six "What Team?" in which Seb drives Carlos home from Big Red's at three in the morning and helps Carlos work through his emotions about the whole situation.
Relationships: Carlos/Seb Matthew-Smith, Seb Matthew-Smith/Carlos Rodriguez
Series: Seblos One-Shots [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576519
Comments: 6
Kudos: 73





	Bet On It

**Author's Note:**

> So heads up, 95% of the content I write by myself are character studies with zero dialogue that are just introspection and no human interaction. Thus, cause I wrote this on my own without my fanfic writing partner who is fantastic at all that jazz, this may be a garbage fire, and if so I apologize. I just really need as many late-night conversation Seblos fics as my poor heart can handle and somebody's got to write 'em!

“Thanks for the ride, Seb. I honestly am not in a state to be walking home,” Carlos says with an awkward laugh as he clutches Miss Jenn’s director’s file to his chest. Seb looks at Carlos, who is curled into himself in the passenger seat of the light blue pickup and trying to keep what little he has left together. It had been a rough day for the whole department, especially Carlos. 

Seb places a hand on Carlos’s shoulder, giving his black and gold jacket a light squeeze, “Of course, I wasn’t gonna let you walk home this late and I know you’ve been having a rough day.” 

“Rough doesn’t even _begin_ to describe it,” Carlos scoffs and turns away from him, trying to hide the vulnerability that his body language was betraying. Seb removes his hand from Carlos’s shoulder and watches the other boy as silence hangs in the air. It isn’t awkward, just tense. Seb knows that any moment that Carlos might break and all he can pray for is for Carlos to let him be there if he does. He knows this isn’t just Carlos being nervous. The anxious finger tapping, quickened breathing, and pulling at his jacket hem was concerning, and Carlos felt so hard to reach.

He wants Carlos to talk to him, but Seb’s never seen the boy in this state before. He wishes that Carlos could see that he won’t judge him and just wants to listen. He knew what Carlos was going to say, but he knew Carlos needed to vent to someone, and someone who wouldn’t place any blame on him like some of the other students had today. 

Carlos didn’t deserve to receive their fire for keeping a secret he promised he wouldn’t tell, and the fact that he was able to hide it for so long showed so much strength. It was a huge burden to bear that he shouldn’t have had to on his own, but nobody had seemed to understand that, and it was hurting Carlos. 

He lightly reaches out and puts a hand on Carlos’s shoulder, feeling the tension dissipate, which is a good start. “Do you want to talk about it, love?” He softly asks Carlos, hoping that the term of endearment wasn’t overstepping any boundaries. The two of them had went to homecoming together, but Seb wasn’t sure if they were officially an item yet. If not he wasn’t sure if Carlos would even be okay with being called that. 

Luckily, Carlos doesn’t bring it up but flushes all the same. He weakly smiles at Seb before letting out a sigh, “I just cannot believe Miss Jenn put this show in jeopardy like this, after all the work we’ve done. She gave me this file to give to our ‘new drama teacher’ so they can finish what Miss Jenn started, but it won’t be the same.”

Starting to tear up, he continues, “Just because she gave me a shot doesn’t mean the next teacher will. Miss Firch would have _killed_ herself before she let me choreograph a single dance break in _Brigadoon_ , let alone a whole show. And the first _damn_ second I have a chance to prove that I am more than just the flamboyant dancer at the butt of everyone’s jokes, it’s taken from me.” 

Carlos hides his face with his hands, trying to cover up the few tears that are rolling down his face. Seb tries to reach out and take one but Carlos stiffens up. “And barely anyone today stood up for me,” Carlos continues to vent as he tears one of his hands through his hair, “I was the bad guy for keeping a secret, that I didn’t want to be trusted with, and keeping it from you and everyone else.”

“I don’t think that,” Seb offers, hoping it will help.

Carlos looks at him, “Yeah, but _they_ _did_ and probably still do.” He buries his face in his hands again, “I just wanted to keep the ship afloat like Miss Jenn asked, not crash it and send Jack Dawson to his death.” 

Seb tries to find a different angle, something, anything to get Carlos to talk and out of his headspace. “Well, I think we might have a shot at fixing it tomorrow with the song we wrote. You worked your choreography magic, _as_ _always_.” He watches as Carlos steals a look at him, this time with his face uncovered and eyes wide. Seb gives Carlos a soft smile which the other boy returns. Mission accomplished.

“You really think it’ll work?,” Carlos asks, waiting for Seb’s affirmation on bated breath. Seb gently nods. It’s enough to calm Carlos for a moment until he realizes the situation. “But we only just threw it together and what if people screw up on their spacing, the gym is different from Big Red's basement and—”

Carlos is rambling and spiraling again, so Seb decides to act quickly and try and get Carlos’s attention. He takes Carlos’s hands into his, “Carlos, it’s perfect. You’re perfect.” Carlos’s face completely flushes, making Seb realize the slip up he just made. He tries to cover it up, “Besides, Miss Jenn and the whole school board will love it. How could they not?” 

Seb noticed that Carlos is about to answer, so he puts a finger to Carlos’s lips, trying to ignore the fact that they’re incredibly soft because there is a task at hand. He pointedly looks at the blushing choreographer in front of him, “That was a rhetorical question.”

Carlos stifles a chuckle before bursting into laughter. Seb breaks face and starts to laugh alongside the other boy, sharing a moment before falling into a comfortable silence. A few moments later, Carlos looks up to Seb with a glimmer of hope in his eyes, “You honestly think we have a chance?”

Seb smiles and gives Carlos a wink, “I would bet on it.” This causes Carlos to smile, really smile. Seb had missed seeing him like this, and having seen Carlos in this state, he would do anything to make sure nobody hurt him like this again. 

He’s too distracted to even notice Carlos leaning in to quickly kiss his cheek. The moment Carlos does, it’s over. Seb is sure he’s flushing a tomato red right now and goes to say something, but Carlos is already halfway out the truck, stumbling with the clunky director’s file and trying to hide his beet-red face. “I should go to sleep, but thank you again Seb. See you, uh, today and drive home safely.”

Before he can say a word Carlos closes the door to the pickup and heads to his front porch. He watches the other boy fumble to open the door, but when he does he gives Seb a small wave before darting inside.

* * *

Seb sinks into his seat the moment he hears the front door close. Carlos kissed him? Carlos missed him. He wasn’t entirely sure why: if it was just for letting him talk or if Carlos also really liked him back too? He just wanted to see the other boy happy, but this was totally unexpected, not that he was complaining. He just didn’t know Carlos had this dorky somewhat romantic side to him. But he also supposed that he had no idea about how insecure Carlos could be until tonight. 

Carlos always seemed like he was the one person who had it all together and all planned out. Every outfit Carlos wears could be on Project Runway and everyone knows Carlos has been working on his Juilliard audition since freshman year. For the show, Carlos was the glue that held Miss Jenn and just about everything else together. He never thought to consider how hard it must be for the choreographer to be that glue all of the time. 

He was thankful that Carlos gave him the chance to be his authentic self each and let Miss Jenn know about him wanting to play Sharpay, which he would have not been able to ask about himself. He also was still shocked that Carloslet him in after showing up three hours late to homecoming and accidentally standing him up for most of the night. He had been terrified Carlos would be upset, but he didn’t hold Maureen's death against Seb, and they were able to spend a blissful hour of their date together. He had spent so many moments this semester in Carlos’s gratitude, he was glad he could return the favor, even in the tiniest way. 

Seb is brought out of his musings when his phone buzzes and he receives a text from Carlos reading, “Go home, love.” Seb flushes embarrassed that he’s been sitting here at an early morning hour in front of the boy of his dreams house pining. How does Carlos know he’s still here? He receives a second text that reads “Look Up.” 

Poking out the bedroom window, he sees Carlos motioning wildly for him to leave. He didn’t know how one person could be this extra and this adorable at the same time, and more notably at three in the morning. Seb raises his eyebrows at Carlos, and the dancer mouths, “We’re not going to save Miss Jenn if you’re half asleep!” Seb, not able to read his lips mouths, “What?” back to him. 

Carlos shouts “We’re not going to save Miss Jenn if you’re half asleep!” out the window a little too loudly before the other lights in his home slowly turn on. Carlos audibly curses before shutting his window and dodging inside meekly, causing Seb to break out laughing. 

He smiles to himself and starts up his truck, but before leaving he quickly sends Carlos a goodnight text. Before he can even set the phone down, his phone buzzes again, with a heartfelt, emoji-filled goodnight text from the dancer. 

Perhaps getting Miss Jenn to keep her Jon wasn’t the only thing he could bet on. Tonight certainly raised the odds for his chance with Carlos, and he couldn’t be happier. 

**Author's Note:**

> I really need to stop writing Seblos content exclusively at odd hours of the night... I hope that this wasn't a total disaster of an escapade.


End file.
